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Letters: Awareness much needed for elderly care

Posted:
09/15/2013 12:00:00 AM MDT

Awareness much needed for elderly care

Being a member of the health care team, I encounter first-hand the frustrations and concerns of families who are troubled by the needs of their elderly loved ones. Despite numerous programs and facilities available in our community, many families are unaware, or don't fully understand, their services.

Many times it is extremely difficult for families to care for their loved one's needs after acute onsets of a disease.

Hence our elderly population has grown, and due to the fast pace life we experience nowadays, it is crucial to have knowledge of the help that is out there.

Falls, infections and progressive diseases such as Alzheimer are some of the many ailments our elderly face.

Many of these ailments can be prevented or kept under control if we are able to detect early signs and symptoms.

There are several programs in our community such as "Bienvivir" and "Project Amistad" that can assist in coordination of our elderly's care.

There are many outpatient therapy clinics, adult day-cares, nursing facilities, home health and hospice agencies which are always willing to educate us regarding their services.

Educating ourselves about the many resources our community has to offer is crucial for our loved one's care and well-being.

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Keep in mind that prevention and social support are the key for proper care.

Jose Guzman, Central El Paso

New law casts doubt on murder convictions

I would like to applaud the Texas Legislature and Gov. Perry for approving a new law that gives defendants a chance to present new scientific evidence that might cast doubt on the reliability of their convictions ("El Paso man on death row seeks to postpone execution date based on new evidence," (Tuesday El Paso Times).

Let's allow all the scientific evidence to be heard before imposing an irreversible punishment like the death penalty.

Bryand Spencer, Horizon City

Many forms of discrimination

We say that we have freedom yet we are discriminated against in many different ways.

Truth is we don't have the same opportunities as others. We live in a generation where money, gender and skin color are more important than personal values.

Discrimination has reached the limit that age does not matter anymore.

It's amazing how a child can be judged as an adult. In Houston a 10-year-old girl faces a sexual assault charge after playing doctor with her friend, who is 4 years old.

Kids under this age group are not capable of understanding that touching their private parts is inappropriate.

There are more than 750,000 sex offenders registered.

We should provide mental assistance not only to sex offenders but to the parents of child sex offenders.

For me this is not a crime but a mental problem that can be corrected with professional help.

The younger they are the easier it is to correct their mental issues since their brain is more capable of adapting new ways.

We should start educating children that they should not let anybody touch their private parts. We should consider educating kids in school about sexual assault.

That way we can prevent kids from being raped. And not only educate the kids but the parents, too, because the problem starts from home and not only from the people around us but from what we see on TV, video games, music and movies.

Marisela Martinez, West El Paso

Different solution regarding Syria

This respite by opposing parties backing the two sides of the Syrian civil war permits a different solution. We should assure the governments of the Muslim world we believe they are capable of solving the Syrian conflict themselves without any further help from us.

During this breathing space, we should inform the enormously wealthy sheikhs of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, the Kuwaitis and Egyptians, upon whom we've lavished billions, that this is their problem -- in their backyards.

They are already beneficiaries of an enormous amount of America's fortune and blood, and logistically it makes far more sense than us fighting another war halfway around the world.

On one side of the Syrian border is Turkey, immediately threatened by a Syrian government equipped with an ever-growing supply of Russian arms and willingness to use gas as a weapon of mass destruction.

We cannot expect much from Lebanon or Jordan, but a token force from each would help convey a sense of unity within the Arab League.

Beyond that, there are the Muslim nations of Iraq, followed by Afghanistan, able to field a token contingent of troops who are already equipped and trained by America.

In fact, all other nations made up of predominately populations of Muslims, including Pakistan and Indonesia, with a combined population of over 410 million, could join a peace-keeping mission to Syria.

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